Beethoven, Symphony No.4 in B flat major, op.60

The Fourth Symphony was first performed in Vienna in 1807 at the home ofone of Beethoven's patrons, Prince Franz Joseph Lobkowitz. Compared withthe Third Symphony, the Fourth is more modest and traditional; its styleand structure are closer to the Second. The Fourth Symphony is not amonumental work; on the contrary, the orchestra is the smallest for anyBeethoven symphony. The gentle harmony and placidity of this symphonyprompted the French composer Hector Berlioz to comment about the secondmovement: "...the being who wrote such a marvel of inspiration... was nothuman." This recording is part of Bernstein's complete cycle of Beethovensymphonies recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra live in Vienna.The series won the Ace Award, the U.S. Cable TV Association's top award foroutstanding quality and entertainment value. Bernstein's impassionedrenderings of Beethoven move audiences in a unique way. "Beethoven hasalways meant universality to me, ever since my early adolescence, when Ifirst heard that unforgettable cry of 'Brüder!'. From that moment on,every... symphony came to mean heart-to-heart communication, travellingsatellite-fashion via the cosmos itself. I offer [this cycle] to all music-loving ears as a testament of faith and of my most profound reactions tothis greatest of all composers." (Leonard Bernstein, 1980)